Bedard designated; Peralta back from DL

By Bill Chastain / MLB.com

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays designated left-hander Erik Bedard for assignment on Monday to make room for right-hander Joel Peralta to return from the disabled list.

Peralta went on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday, retroactive to July 13, because of the Chikungunya virus. It was Peralta's first DL stint in a decade, when he was with Triple-A Salt Lake (Angels affiliate) in 2004.

Peralta said he's almost back to full strength at "about 90 percent" and "ready to go."

"I need to pitch," he said.

Peralta, who became the franchise's career leader in appearances on July 4 (the record now stands at 270), is 2-3 with a 4.15 ERA in 43 games this season.

"It's great to have him back, he's so versatile, I'm telling you, man, a little bit of rest right now could really energize him for the season," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Maddon noted that Peralta's return, along with a return to form by Grant Balfour, bodes well for the team. Lately Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger have pitched most of the high-leveraged moments and the Rays' manager pointed out the team needs contributions from all of the team's relievers.

"You saw Grant [Saturday] night, that looked really good," Maddon said. "Joel's going to look really good. Boxy and Jake and now [Jeff] Beliveau, he looks pertinent, and [Cesar] Ramos, not afraid of Cesar either. So up and down, I think we have a lot of pertinent relief pitchers. Again, we need to spread it out. We can't rely on one or two guys."

Bedard, 35, went 4-6 with a 4.76 ERA in 17 appearances (15 starts) for Tampa Bay this season. Maddon talked to the veteran after Sunday afternoon's 3-2 loss to the Red Sox.

"He was great," Maddon said. "He gets it. Absolutely gets it."

Maddon explained that pitching Bedard out of the bullpen was not "really beneficial to him or us."

"He's a starter, great guy, did some great work for us," Maddon said. "Personally, loved this guy. Great conversation, good relationship, we wish him nothing but the best. But for right now it did not seem to fit properly."

Price, Jennings, Moore visit rec centers

ST. PETERSBURG -- David Price, Desmond Jennings, Matt Moore and members of the Rays training staff visited recreation centers around St. Petersburg on Monday as part of the Rays Dugout Club's "Eat Well, Play Well" program.

Price, Jennings and Moore, who each sponsor multiple recreation centers, went to visit campers in their respective clubs -- "Price's Pals," "Jennings' Juniors" and "The Moore Corps."

"I've seen a lot of kids for multiple years," said Price, who has been with the program since it began in 2010. "A lot of them wear their Price's Pals shirts. It's cool to see them still having those shirts -- they haven't grown out of them yet. I see a lot of the same kids there, and that's always have a good feeling."

The "Eat Well, Play Well" program emphasizes health and wellness, staying active and eating healthy. Monday's event was the culmination of a six-week program that involved growing fresh vegetables in school gardens with the Edible Peace Patch Project, making healthy meals with All Children's Hospital's Fit4AllKids program and participating in physical activities with City of St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation.

"I can definitely make an impression on them," Price said. "I was never around anybody that was a professional athlete or anything of that nature, and I see the looks on their faces when I walk in. Whenever I get there, they're all yelling at me, because they're playing outside and stuff, and that's always cool."

On Monday, Price, Jennings and Moore, along with the Rays' trainers, spoke to kids about nutrition and led them through stretching and warmup exercises. Price, for example, did lunges with the Price's Pals campers at the Gladden Park and Campbell Park recreation centers.

"It's good for these kids to hear these messages," Price said. "Eating right is just as important as getting exercise. If you're eating great and you're not exercising, or you're exercising really well and not eating very good, I think you're kind of just playing for the tie."

Worth noting

• Catcher Ryan Hanigan (left oblique strain) said he could start a rehab stint with Class A Advanced Charlotte on Wednesday, and manager Joe Maddon said Hanigan could be ready to return from the disabled list for this weekend's series against the Angels.

Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.